Hematological Parameters in Adult Patients with COVID-19; A Case-Control Study

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a serious public health concern worldwide. The virus mainly causes respiratory symptoms, but its manifestations might be different. Assessments showed that COVID-19 can cause various alterations in the blood parameters. Objectives: This study aimed to detect the most common changes in the blood parameters in COVID-19 patients and compare them with healthy individuals. Methods: In this study, 350 individuals were grouped into two equal groups of COVID‐19 patients and healthy controls. Results: The mean age of patients was 53.73 years, and males constituted 52.57% of them. Middle aged patients constituted about 55.43% of participants, elderly patients 26.29%, and young patients 18.29%. There was a significant correlation between COVID-19 and all the blood parameters, including Hb, MCV, WBC, neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and platelets (P = 0.000). Conclusions: Infection with COVID-19 is associated with multisystem symptoms and signs, as well as numerous laboratory abnormalities. An increased focus should be on changes in the blood parameters as valuable markers in suggesting the infection when the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is negative. These parameters can give clues about the severity of the infection and predict the admission to the intensive care unit (ICU).